, 1887-07-16

Chips" obeyed the summons; and,
when he entered the cabin, was aston
ished to find the captains wife jammed
by a heavy chest against a splintered lee
hulkhead, and half covered with broken
crockery from the shelves of the stewards
locker.
When the ship went over she had
jumped from her bed to run on deck, but
the chest broke away from its lashings on
the weather side, and sliding across the
floor, knocked her down. and half through
the thin pine paneling, holding her there,
bruised, bleeding, and unable to move.
She knew that if her husband left the
deck TO come to her rescue, the few mo-
ments in which he might right the ship
would be lost. When he called through
the broken port, she said nothing of her
situation, feeling sure that if advised of
it, his first thoughts would be for her.
She purposely misled him by her feigned
solicitude for the safety of the log book,
and, forgetting her own danger, admon-
ished him to look to his ship.
If the vessel had zone down, she would
ave been drowned like a helpless animal
in n trap; but she ran the risk, in order
that the crew on deck might not be di-
verted from their efforts to save the ship.
With this end in view, she made no out
cry when the heaving of the ship moved
the chest back and forth, grinding her
against the sharp splinters.
She had tainted from pain when the
captain found her. Part of the bulkhead
had to be cut away to release her, with.
out further liberation from the ragged
edges of the woodwork.
When the carpenter went forward, he
told what he had seen in the cabin; and
the man who had been at the wheel re-
lated the conversation that had passed
between the captain and his wife through
the window.
The crew were impressed. Sailors I'M
~avoidably see so much that is ~unlovely in
women, that they are especially quick to
recognize true womanhood, and are cut
spoken admirers of that high moral cour-
age which often nerves delicate ladies, In
times of great danger, to a heroism sell
dom equaled by the sterner sex.
After breakfast, the next Sunday
morning, Mrs. White appeared on deck
for he first time since the squat. She
was seated in an easy chair on the quar-
terdeck, her arm in n sling, and a band
age round her forehead. The officers
were suddenly startled by seeing the
crew come aft in n body; and, remem-
bering their former experience, imme-
diately assumed n defensive attitude.
One of the men treasured them by adj
v~ancing as spokesman, and saying, with
much rude ~eloquence, that they wished
to thank Mrs. White for her brave and
unseltish action, both in defending her
husband and for indirectly saving the
ship when struck by the squat, as they
knew well that, had she been released
first, the ship could rot rave been re-
leased afterward. They had been so
determined that a show of force by the
officers would not have sufficed to make
them work the vessel to Montevideo; but
the courage and kindness of the weakest
member of the ships company had done
more than all the powder and ball in the
arm chest could nave accomplished;
namely, induced them to give up their
intention to mutiny again, and run the
ship ashore near Pernambuco.
They all felt that she should be credited
with the prevention of mutiny and blood
shed, the safety of the ship and the lives
of the officers. Presenting their respects
to Mrs. White, they assured her and the
officers that they would be %peaceable and
subordinate for the rest of the voyage.
The man who had been wounded dur
ing the mutiny brought aft a hammock
which he had made of cod line for Mrs.
White, and when he had slung it in the
shade of a sail, she was placed in it, well
pleased at the influence a good woman
could have over sixteen lawless and
desperate men.
After the Sunderland reached port,
the incidents of the voyage were made
the subject of much comment by the
press, and the captains wife received
every mark of respect and admiration
from the masters of the vessels then
lying in the harbor of Montevideo.-
James J. Watt in The Argonaut.